Finding A Way Back
by DemonSlayerPrincess
Summary: set after the end with Galaxia, the senshi all live seperate lives, some not so great but can they find their way back to each other?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Finding A Way Back

Description: set after the end with Galaxia, the senshi all live seperate lives, some not so great but can they find their way back to watch other?

It had been three years since the sailor senshi defeated the evil within Galaxia. It had been three years since they had been a team and almost three years since most of them had seen each other. Usagi rested on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with a yawn and thinking about her former friends. For Usagi, though, they were still her friends, no matter how far apart they were. Three years ago, soon after the whole thing with Galaxia, Luna and Artemis had announced that their work as senshi was over and they had stripped them of their powers and duties.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Usagi had asked her feline companion. Luna had given Usagi an amused smile and spoke, "You can all now lead normal lives without worrying about saving Earth, you have done your mission and I am very proud of all of you." Even Haruka and Michiru had given up the chances on being senshi anymore and surprised everyone by willingly giving up their powers as well. They had always worked alone, but even they wanted a chance at a normal life, they had earned it after all. Setsuna and Hotaru on the other hand decided to go back to the future because their missions were not over. Chibiusa had to return home to her future, she didn't belong in the same time as the others. As for Luna and Artemis, they had agreed to look after Chibiusa in the future and went with her.

Usagi creased her brow, thinking about that moment and why they had all gone their own seperate ways. In fact, the only former sailor senshi Usagi had talked to in the past three years, was Makoto. On one hand, her friends must be really busy with their own lives, but on the other hand, she thought friends were supposed to stick together no matter what.

Usagi looked down at her hand at the beautiful engagement ring on her finger. She smiled excitedly at the thought of marrying her true love, Mamoru. She had wanted to marry him as soon as the battle with Galaxia was over, but he wanted to wait until she graduated so she could finish up her schooling. Usagi was even more excited because she graduated high school a couple of weeks back and would turn 19 the following month and a month after that, July, her and Mamoru planned to wed.

Usagi's smile grew as she mentally counted down the days until her wedding day, but her smile soon faded as she thought about her only sailor senshi friend who would be there, Makoto. Though Makoto was really busy, she was the only senshi who had stayed in Tokyo like Usagi. She wasn't sure where the others were even living now, but wherever they were, she hoped they were happy.

Ami hurried through the hospital nervously. She was so nervous that she felt the palms of her hands begin to sweat. She quickly opened the washroom that was for doctors only and went to the sink to scrub up. As she did she couldn't help but look at her reflection in the mirror. She looked about the same as she always had; her blue hair was slightly longer, though not enough to really tell unless you looked closely.

It was the only change except that now she wore a doctor's uniform. Although she was still in college, Ami was so smart that she was awarded the chance to become a doctor part-time while she was still in college, learning hands on with real doctors. Ami had been so excited that she couldn't turn down such an honor and she grabbed the oppurtunity.

Ami shook her head, it was no time for day dreaming because she was needed in the O.R. She quickly scrubbed her hands thoroughly and made her way back to her work. Secretly she was thinking of her friends, the ones she had left behind to be able to go to the college of her dreams and work at the hospital she does now. -

Unknown to Ami, just across the other side of town, Mina was standing on the sidewalk and leaned up against a building behind her. Her blonde hair flowed down her back, untidy with an orange bow placed at the top to match a very short dress that hugged her body tightly. She stood there, waiting for something. It didn't take long until a blue convertable pulled up in front of her and stopped. The top of the car was already down and a cheesy looking man smoothly, at least to him, leaned across from the steering wheel to the other side of the car, grinning at Mina.

Mina forced herself to not look away as he spoke, "Come on in." It wasn't the first time a guy had been rude to her like this, but despite this she walked up to the car, "How much you got?" "For you.." he paused looking Mina up and down, "8,000 yen." It was an average pay of what she usually recieved, but Mina couldn't help herself this time and looked away in thought. She wondered what her old friends would say if they knew this was her job, if they knew what she had done and was capable of. Mina forced herself again and got into the passenger side of his car.

The guy grinned and placed his hand on her thigh, rubbing it slightly. Mina again had to restrain herself from slapping him, she would definitely get in trouble for being rude to a customer. As he drove off, Mina thought how she could end up trading her body for money after all the good she had done to stop evil. She hoped with all her heart that they hadn't ended up in a mess like she had.

Makoto sighed as she did her best to clean her apartment. A two year old boy and girl was running around everywhere making as much noise as they could as they laughed. "Quiet down for goodness sakes!" Makoto yelled over their joyful screaming. A man walked in and kissed Makoto on the cheek before playfully grabbing each kid in an arm and spinning them around in his arms until they got tired and settled down.

At least that's what Makoto wished would happen, but she knew it wouldn't. Her husband had left her and her twins were left fatherless. She turned to them, still trying to concentrate on her cleaning, "Knock it off I said or do you want a time out?" her look shown that she wasn't kidding in the least. The children pouted, but sat down and started playing with their toys. Makoto sat down with another deep sigh and thought, 'When did things get this hard?'

Another former senshi was thinking the same thing as she stood behind bars at a local police station. a pudgy cop walked up to the cell, "Ms. Hino, I'm not going to tell you again, if you don't control your temper this will be your final warning." The cop shook his head as Rei looked down and he unlocked the cell, "You can't just go around London attacking people out of anger." Rei slowly walked out of the cell, knowing he was right.

The cop handed Rei's purse to her and motioned with his head to leave, giving her a warning look. Rei put the strap of her purse on her shoulder with a sigh and left the police station. She didn't stop for anything and kept walking, she just wanted to get home. Home. It wasn't the place she now lived that she called home, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. When she did excuse herself to go "home" she would say something like "I want to go to bed" or "I have to go," it was never "home." The only place she called home was back in Tokyo, at the temple, but somehow fate or just bad luck led her to London.

When she got to the rent house she stayed at, she punched in a few numbers on the device beside the door and walked into the house. All she wanted to do now was go upstairs and take a relaxing bath, if no one else was using the tubs. Before she made it to the stairs an older woman, in her late 40's, walked in from the kitchen wearing an apron and already shaking her head.

Ms. Grey was a nice enough woman, but she was also fair and strict when she needed to be. She had short, curly dirty blonde hair and she wore an old fashioned white and beige dress along with the white apron. "Getting yourself into trouble again, Rei, why?" she asked, sadness in her eyes. Rei had to look away, already feeling guilty enough, but she could still feel her deep blue eyes penatrating her.

The truth was, she had been getting into fights with other people which had already landed her in a cell three times. To top it off she knew that her luck with getting a warning had just run out. Ms. Grey looked down some and spoke, "I'm sorry Rei, but you're going to have to find somewhere else to live." Rei quickly looked back at her, surprised. Ms. Grey continued, "I'm sorry, but I can't have someone who keeps getting themselves thrown in a cell living in this building." It was as if Rei's only last friend had abandoned her and all she wanted to do was get away so she quickly headed upstairs to pack her things.

Ms. Grey sighed and tried placing a hand on Rei's for comfort, but Rei jerked her hand away. "Leave me alone," she snapped as she went up to her room. She wasn't sure where she was going to go, but she had to get away as soon as possible.

The music at the bar pounded in Haruka's ears as she took another swallow from her drink. She was sitting on a bar stool at the bar and was on her third drink. She didn't know that she wasn't the only former senshi in London, just a few miles away from where Rei was, but she had never run into her. Haruka herself was dealing with a lot and drinking seemed to take the pain away for only a little while. As much as she tried she couldn't get the death of someone she deeply cared about out of her head. She took another swallow, getting a little of her whisky on her leather jacket. The sad fact was, Haruka was trying to take the pain of two losses, one she couldn't do anything about and one that seemed impossible to fix. As she finished off her glass once again, she hoped it would make her forget Setsuna's death.

AN: I know it's not the greatest first chapter but I still hope it's alright so far ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A 7-year old girl with long straight blonde hair and light blue eyes ran up to the park bench where a woman with aqua colored hair sat smiling softly. This woman was the only former senshi who lived in the United States, New York, to be more precise. This woman of course, was Michiru. The child in front of her was smiling happily as she came up to her.

"Did you have fun Kate?" Michiru asked as she handed her a pink jacket and backpack. Kate nodded, still smiling as she put on the fleece jacket. It was fall and while she wasn't playing on the playset in the park she was told she had to wear it to keep her warm. "Can we go get icecream now, pleeease," Kate asked with her cutest smile. Michiru laughed softly with a smile, "Why don't we get hot chocolate instead?" Kate thought about this, she was the only child and could usually find a way to get what she wanted without being disrespectful like most spoiled children.

After a few seconds, Kate nodded with a smile, "Okay." Michiru, smiling softly, took Kate's hand and walked with her to the nearest coffee house. Michiru had been there almost 3 years and had learned English pretty well, she still got stuck on some of the bigger words and a few times with grammer, but she made it work.

Once to the coffee house, Kate picked out a table while Michiru ordered two hot chocolates. Kate looked out the window in thought until Michiru sat down at the table with her, a few minutes later, and placed two cups and a saucer of marshmellows in front of them. "What is so interesting out there?" Michiru said playfully as she took a spoon and put a couple of the marshmellows into her hot chocolate.

Having tea or hot chocolate with Kate was some of Michiru's fondest memories while living in America because even though Kate was only seven, she could carry on the best conversations. Kate giggled some and looked at Michiru with a smile, "I was just thinking what it would be like to fly," she replied as she copied Michiru and put two marshmellows in her own cup. Michiru smiled softly, it was hard sometimes not being able to tell her that she once had powers that allowed her too do much more than fly, but she knew it was better to keep that part of her life a secret.

"Tell me what it's like to live in Japan again, please," Kate smiled her cute smile again before blowing the steam away from her drink. Michiru giggled some before taking a sip of her hot chocolate and once she had swallowed, she began telling her more about the home she left. She talked about the food there, the culture, and schools.

It always seemed to fascinate Kate when Michiru spoke about where she came from, but she always wanted to know more. "Did you have a boyfriend in Japan?" Kate asked, surprising Michiru so she almost choked on the warm liquid going down her throat. Michiru sat her cup down once again and looked at Kate, only now realizing that she never told her about any love interests she had before moving there.

"Not exactly," Michiru answered, taking her tea spoon and swirling her hot chocolate so the nearly-melted marshmellows had to swim in a circle around the top. "A girlfriend?" Kate proceeded. Michiru blinked and looked at Kate, she had to process in her mind what she just asked, to make sure she heard her correctly. "A girlfriend?" Michiru repeated, letting her spoon slide out of her heand into her cup.

"Well yeah," Kate shrugged as if this was an every day discussion, "some people here have girlfriends and I thought maybe you liked girls when you were in Japan, I mean you did say "not exactly", what else could it be?" Sometimes Kate was a little too smart and caught things that others would just forget about or miss. Michiru gave her a calm smile and said, "It's time to get you home, I don't want to worry your father."

Kate knew changing the subject was Michiru's nice way of telling her that it wasn't her place to know or that she was too young to know and it was best to keep the subject changed. "But I wanted to go shopping," Kate protested and her face lit up happily as she went on, "we could get new dresses." Michiru laughed softly at how much she reminded her of herself sometimes, but then got serious, "You can't run away from your report card, you will have to show your father sooner or later." Kate thought about this then nodded, "later."

Michiru shook her head though couldn't help smiling, "Now young lady." Kate sighed, "Okay," and with that she finished the last of her hot chocolate, which was starting to get cold, and hopped out of the chair with her backpack in hand. Along with Michiru, Kate took her coffee cup to the front countet, thinking about what her father would say if he knew the grade she had recieved. It was late afternoon, her father would be arriving home soon and Michiru had already picked Kate up from school.

She decided to take Kate to the park and to get hot chocolate to help her feel better about the grade, but it was now time to "face the music" as some would say. Michiru and Kate handed their coffee cups to the gentleman behind the counter as if to say thank you for the delicious beverage. It wasn't manditory to bring your cup back once you're finished, in fact most people they saw there would leave their cups or saucers on the table, but for Michiru this was just good manners.

Michiru and Kate walked to Michiru's car and got in, buckled up and were on their way. Kate sat in the back seat, where young kids were supposed to sit in the car and looked down, still thinking about what punishment she might recieve. Michiru kept both hands on the steering wheel and every so often glanced back at Kate through the rear view mirror, "I'm sure things will be alright," she tried comforting her as she tried focusing on the road more.

Michiru was still a little uneasy about driving on the opposite side of the car and found herself trying to block everything else out when she was driving, focusing only on her driving. Kate knew this of course and tried keeping quiet so she could concentrate and stared out of the window, dreading the moment she showed her report card to her father. Michiru parked the car once to the big house and got out, along with the gloomy seven year old.

Michiru walked into the house with Kate and set her keys on the little table nearby, knowing David was home after seeing his red sports car outside. David was a successful businessman who worked from morning to late afternoon and Michiru tried, on most days, to have Kate home before he got home.

David heard them come in from the other room and walked in with a smile, "Welcome home," he kissed Michiru on the cheek then turned to Kate, "How was school?" Kate shrugged and sat her school bag down, "Nothing special." David laughed a little and repeated what she said in a questioned tone. Kate looked over at Michiru and saw her give a nod to go ahead with that she needed to do. Kate took a deep breath and took the report card out of her backpack and showed her father with a slight wince.

David read the paper over and gave a deep breath himself before speaking, "I thought we talked about this math grade." Kate nodded, "I know, I'm sorry." David nodded some, "You know I'm going to have to ground you for a few days, this was my final warning," he didn't want to be harsh, but didn't want her to keep her grades down either. Kate looked down pitifully before nodding and taking her backpack ot her room with her. Michiru looked down some, but stayed quiet, she felt it was wrong to argue the punishment of another person's child.

"I will start dinner," she finally said and started walking towards the kitchen, but stopped once she heard David's voice again. "Why are you two late getting back?" he asked. Michiru stopped and turned back to him, "I took her to the park and we had hot chocolate, I thought it would cheer her up." "Michiru," David started, "this is the third time she's got such a horrible mark on her math, she shouldn't be out getting rewarded for that."

"It wasn't like that," Michiru countered, not liking his tone. David looked at her, not happy with her, "Next time, try not to reward her for doing something she shouldn't be, she's already gets what she wants too much around here," he turned and left to talk to Kate more about the report card. Michiru closed her eyes with a deep sigh and continued her way to the kitchen.

Later that night, after they all had dinner and Kate went to bed, Michiru decided to take a relaxing bath before going to bed herself. She was still a little upset with David and hoped a bath would help, being in water always helped her. She slipped out of her clothes day clothes once the tub was filled to her liking and lowered herself into the warm water, immidiately feeling serene and calm.

Ever since giving up her senshi powers she felt less connected to the sea which really bothered her, but she still had a connection to the water and that she held onto with all she had, never wanting to lose herself completely. She closed her eyes as she laid back against the tub and saw a familiar face in her mind. The familiar face was smirking playfully and Michiru knew this face at once as her former partner, Haruka.

She held that face in her mind as long as she could until she was almost asleep from the calmness. She bathed herself and got out of the tub, drying herself off with a warm towel. She put on a silky light blue night gown and wrapped a light purple robe around her and tied it together at her stomach. She looked down at where she had tied the robe deep in thought then after about 30 seconds, left the bathroom.

She kept walking until she got to the bedroom door before stopping, her hand on the knob. She thought about what she had done and although she didn't regret it or feel sorry about carrying Kate out to the park and to get hot chocolate, she could understand what David meant. Michiru opened the door and stepped in to see David in bed already with a book in his hands and reading glasses on. He peered over the book at her then moved his eyes back to the book. Michiru walked over to her side of the bed and took the robe off of her, putting it over the arm of the dark green club chair in the corner.

She got in bed, facing away from David, and pulled the covers over her and up to her neck. It didn't take long before David looked over at Michiru and apologized, "I shouldn't have jumped on you like that for wanting to help Kate feel better." Michiru didn't speak and didn't turn to him, but she listened. "I guess what I'm trying to say is..thank you, for taking such good care of my..of her," he leaned over and kissed Michiru's head before putting his book and reading glasses down on his bedside table and laying down under the covers.

Michiru stayed silent as David fell asleep beside her and her mind ran through her life in the last three years. When she first got to America, she didn't know anyone of course. She had soon recieved a job, with the help of a translator, as a waitress at an Italian restaurant and that is where she met David and Kate. Kate was 4 and a half at the time and by that time David was a pro at being a dad.

Kate's mother, Julie, and David were young when they had Kate and Julie had given David full custody of their daughter, she did not want to be a mom back then. David had always been afraid that Kate would be taken away from him by Julie, but after meeting Michiru, he felt somehow safer about keeping his daughter.

David and Michiru became good friends soon after meeting in the restaurant and Kate was excited everytime she got to see Michiru, she would say "Daddy! Daddy! Are we going to see Michi today?" David and Michiru became closer and it was apparent to them that they fit well in each other's lives. After a lot of talking and getting to know each other, the two had made their special partnership official by getting married.

Kate was overjoyed and even got to be the flower girl at the wedding. It wasn't like most marriages, they never got more inimate than a simple kiss, but it worked for them. Michiru's life wasn't bad and she loved having David and Kate in her life, but there was something, something that was calling for her.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: if you're unsure about Japanese words I added to the story, here are the meanings and I will explain anymore I add later on in author notes so there's no confusion.

Hai meaning yes

Gomen meaning sorry or I'm sorry

Arigatou meaning thank you

Chapter 3

Makoto got her twins to settle down for the afternoon. They were both sitting at their play table eating a snack consisting of cheese cubes and chopped up fruit, along with fruit punch juice boxes to drink. Makoto couldn't help smiling at them as they ate, she beileved her twins were the cutest twins in the world. Both of them had recieved her brown hair and both had curly hair. The girl, Chisa, had more noticible curly hair than her brother, Tai. The twins also had a set of beautiful green eyes which matched Makoto's eyes almost perfectly, only lighter in color. They were wearing matching, pale green and white one piece clothes which Makoto liked putting them in when they played around the house.

Makoto continued watching them, smiling and thinking to herself how she couldn't believe they were already 2 years old when it seemed like only yesterday she had given birth to them. She remembered how her ex husband was there and Usagi, too. They were both cheering her on as she birthed her daughter and 10 minutes later, her son. It was the most amazing feeling she ever had when she got to hold them both in her arms for the first time, nothing else was on her mind aside from her adorable babies. At the time, her husband seemed really happy to be a new father and told Makoto how proud he was of her for bringing their babies into the world.

Now that Makoto thought of that, it did seem like ages ago. Things had seemed normal at first, both of them took turns getting up during the night for feedings, she would get up to feed them or her husband would bring them to her on the nights she was too tired to get out of bed. One day had changed everything, the day she decided to tell him what she really was, or what she had been at least. He couldn't believe his ears when she told him she used to have powers and protected earth along with her friends.

The more Makoto went on about all of it, the more he believed her, after all she never lied to him. He was so freaked out that he left, he didn't even want anything more to do with their two babies, he didn't want them to be as strange and different. Makoto tried explaining that they probably wouldn't be different than any other human due to the fact she gave up that part of herself before they were even concieved. It was no use though, by this time he wasn't listening. Makoto did her best to raise her children on her own, but it wasn't easy.

A knock at the door brought Makoto from her thoughts and she looked over at the front door with a confused look. As far as she knew, she wasn't expecting company so she wondered who it could be on her way to answer the door. She heard stories about ex husbands who walked out suddenly then showed up one day to take back children or seek some weird revenge. She didn't believe her ex husband would do anything like that, but of course at one time she didn't believe he would leave her either, and she was proven wrong on that one.

Now, every time Makoto answered the door she would look through the small hole in the door, designed to see who was outside. Once she saw that it was Usagi, she smiled and let her in. Usagi smiled happily as she practically skipped her way inside the apartment. Makoto laughed and shut the door behind her then turned to the happy blonde, "Hey Usagi." Usagi giggled and turned to Makoto, holding out an envelope in her hand and grinning. Makoto blinked and took the envelope from her, it was obviously for her.

"What's this?" "It's your wedding invitation," Usagi beamed from ear to ear. Makoto looked excited now, "You two finally decided on a date?" "Hai!" Usagi said a little too loudly from her own excitement. Soon two toddlers were making their way towards Usagi, smiling. Chisa and Tai loved their "aunt" Usagi and they almost knocked her over by running into her legs and hugging them, squeeling with excitement. Makoto smiled then suddenly remembered something, "Oh, will you please stay with them for a few minutes while I go downstairs and get some ice?" Usagi was now sitting on the floor being toppled by two year olds, but she didn't seem to mind as she giggled, "Hai."

Makoto smiled once again. She knew Usagi was clumsy and wasn't always the brightest, but she trusted Usagi with her life and she certainly trusted her enough to watch over the most precious things in her life, her children. "Arigatou Usagi," Makoto replied and slipped out of the apartment before the two toddlers could realize she was gone. It was easy for Usagi to keep them occupied while Makoto was out of the apartment, even if they were a bit hyper from having their snack and getting a visit from their aunt. By the time Makoto reentered the apartment, she saw Usagi crawling around on her hands and knees with Tai and Chisa; all of them were pretending to be dogs. She couldn't help laughing at this as she went to put her ice in the freezer.

Usagi sat down on the floor, seeing Makoto come in, and tilted her head some as the twins played with her pigtails, "Why do you need so much ice?" She noticed that Makoto had gotten the big bag of ice this time instead of the medium bag which she usually got since she didn't use much. "I have someone coming over today," Makoto answered as she came back to the living room to join them. Usagi blinked then a grin appeared on her face and she stood up after gently prying the twins hands from her hair. The twins didn't fuss about this since they were getting tired. "So is this a date you're going to have," Usagi said, giving a giggle as she grinned.

Maktoto went slightly pink in the face at the accusation as her eyes widen some, "No it's not a date, it's just a business propisition." "Uh huh," Usagi wasn't so convinced, "and who is the guy?" "Girl," Makoto corrected with a sly grin, knowing that would throw Usagi off. Usagi blinked surprised, as Makoto suspected, and tilted her head some to the side, "Nani?" she asked. Makoto laughed, "I told you it was a business thing, she's coming over to talk about a new cooking show she wants to start."

Usagi ignored the fact she was wrong and sat down in a chair at a small table that was between the living room area of the apartment and the kitchen. "So what happened to your last cooking show thingy?" she plopped a cookie on the snack tray into her mouth. Makoto looked down and gathered her children up in both arms to put them down for their nap, "It didn't go well," she replied as she walked to one of the bedrooms in the apartment. "But you're like the best cook ever," Usagi said, a hint of whining in her tone. Makoto came back into the room with a smile, "Sometimes things just don't work out," she sat down in the other chair. "Gomen.." said Usagi, giving Makoto a sympathetic look. Makoto didn't like when Usagi felt bad, especially when she felt bad for her. She gave her blonde friend a reasurring smile and said, "I'll bounce back, at least I have my children and friends."

Usagi smiled at this and gave a nod, "Hai." "Speaking of.." Makoto started, "have you heard from the others? Are you going to invite them to the wedding?" Usagi looked down at the table, of course she thought about inviting all of them, but truthfully she didn't even know where they all lived now, at least not exactly. She knew Michiru was all the way in America, Haruka and Rei had said something about going to London and she knew Ami was still somewhere in Japan. The only one she wasn't sure of was Mina, she only knew that she had said something about following her dreams of becoming an actress and singer and for all she knew she could be famous in any part of the world. "I don't know if I can," Usagi said finally, looking back up at Makoto, shaking her head, "I haven't talked to anyone except you, I don't even know anyone else's address."

This seemed to sadden Usagi so Makoto quickly changed the subject, "Why don't you stay for dinner tonight, I'm sure my friend wouldn't mind." This seemed to cheer Usagi up and she smiled again, "Hai!" That evening after Makoto had politely got Usagi out of the kitchen after she tried to help her cook and just ended up burning things, Makoto worked busily on dinner for her, Usagi and the friend she had mentioned. Usagi helped by making sure the twins had their dinner before it was their bedtime. She didn't have any trouble getting them to clean their plates, but afterwards they wanted to play and was once again trying to hang off of Usagi's long pigtails. "Tai, Chisa, Usagi's hair isn't something to climb on," Makoto warned them from the kitchen.

After this warning, Tai and Chisa settled down and Usagi could tell Makoto wasn't only a wonderful mother, but she also didn't let her children get away with things they shouldn't be doing. Usagi tried to laugh off her hair being used as a toy and took the twins to get their teeth brushed and pajamas on. Since they already had a bath that day, Makoto figured Usagi wouldn't have any trouble putting them to bed, but she soon heard children giggling and Usagi crashing to the floor. Makoto left her food to cook and hurried to the bathroom where she swung open the door to see Usagi sitting on the floor rubbing her back with a wincing expression.

A trail of tooth paste was leading from under Usagi to Tai, who was innocently trying to hide the tube behind his back while his sister giggled ammused. Makoto wasn't happy, she carefully helped Usagi up then looked over at Tai who was obviously the guilty party and raised an eyebrow, this was her way of saying "you're busted." Tai knew he was in trouble and started to cry, he was cranky from being tired at this point and also didn't want to be in trouble. This made Chisa cry and rub her eyes from being tired as well.

Makoto gave a deep sigh and after giving them a proper teeth cleaning, helped Usagi put them to bed. As they walked out of the toddlers room, Makoto gave a chuckle, "I know they can be a handful, especially when they're tired and refuse to go to bed. It took them almost half an hour to get the twins to sleep, they were cranky, but they were also stubborn. Makoto walked quickly to the kitchen and checked her food, luckily nothing had burned and everything seemed ready. Usagi could tell this was an important dinner for Makoto because of all the fancy food she prepared and she hoped beyond hope that this was Makoto's big break.

There was a knock at the door and Makoto walked to the door and opened it, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. A skinny, slightly shorter girl than Makoto stood smiling as the door opened to reveal her. She had long straight black hair that reached just below her shoulder blades, brown eyes and a calming demenor. Makoto returned a smile and let her into the apartment, "Thank you for coming Naomi." Naomi started to remove her jacket as she looked around smiling, "You have a lovely home Makoto."

Makoto took her jacket for her to hang it up, "Arigatou," she replied, keeping her smile. Naomi's eyes fell on Usagi and she said, with a kind smile, "Hello." Usagi smiled and gave a polite bow then as she rose back up, Usagi took in the clothes she was wearing. She wore a cute yellow blouse and black short skirt with light yellow leggings underneath. She didn't look like someone who would own a cooking show, but more of a variety show for teenagers perhaps.

"It smells delicious in here," Naomi was smiling as if she just won an award, "I hope it tastes as good as it smells." This was apparently a joke as her and Makoto both laughed, Usagi just stood there waiting to know what was funny. "This is my friend Usagi," Makoto introduced, "I hope it's alright she stays for dinner tonight." Naomi at first didn't seem thrilled about the idea, but she smiled and nodded, "Of course, I'm Naomi," she introduced herself, "Makoto is a wonderful chef and I'm hoping to star her in my new cooking show after the details are gone over of course," she gave Makoto a shy kind of smile, that Makoto apparently didn't notice much. Makoto smiled, turning towards the kitchen, "Well let's eat," and with that, she led them into the kitchen where the food was already placed on the table.

Usagi followed behind Naomi, thinking about the shy smile she noticed Naomi having, did she have some kind of crush on Makoto?

Mina looked around the abandoned warehouse at all the other women like her, who were giving themselves drugged needles. She was the only one in the group who never joined in on that part. She sat to herself in a corner with her knees bent up to her chest and her arms around her legs watching the sad scene. A man with brown messy hair and baggy clothes walked over to Mina and sat down beside her. He had a sandwich in a plastic package and a condom on top of the plastic. He handed both of them to her, "Here," he spoke in a soft tone. Mina gave a nod of thanks as she took them and began unwrapping the sandwich hungrily. This guy was the one she worked for, Tony, and he took good care of her and the other women and tried giving them everything they needed if they supplied him with good money.

Luckily or unluckily, however you wanted to see it, Mina was one of his best and he often treated her better than most of the other women. Tony placed his palms on the wood bench they were sitting on and looked out at the other women, "Why are you here?" Mina blinked and looked over at him with a confused look, "What?" she asked in her best English. He looked back at her and her stomach sank, "You're not like all of these girls, so why are you here?" The sandwich Mina had taken a bite out of was now lying beside her forgotten, along with the condom.

It wasn't every day that Tony had a meaningful discussion with her and Mina wanted to choose her words carefully, "I..I needed a place to go," she shrugged faintly. "Why not stay with friends or family?" Tony asked curiously. Mina looked down at the floor and this made Tony drop the subject, "Eat up, I have a different street for you tonight and don't forget to take that with you," he pointed to the condom before standing and heading back over to the other girls. Mina felt terrible now and she hoped that she didn't offend him.

The truth was, she moved there to become famous but after getting turned down so many times, she was starting to get terribly broke and had to do something for work and a place to live, Tony gave her both. It seemed that Mina lost her talent and will to fight for her biggest dream. After finishing the sandwich, Mina stood and pocketed the condom. Something told her that it was going to be a long night.

Meanwhile Haruka was being ushered out of a bar by a pudgy man who didn't look happy. He muttered, "It's too early for this," as he went back inside the bar. Haruka was yet again drunk and was disrupting nearly everyone in the bar. Haruka had tried kissing a cute girl, threw up on the guy beside her and tried getting up on the bar with her drink. The bar tender, Frank, had no other choice than to call a cab and escort Haruka out. Stumbling a few times outside, Haruka finally sat down on the sidewalk and leaned back against the bar. She closed her eyes, feeling tired all of a sudden and let herself fall asleep right where she sat.

It didn't seem like five minutes went by before someone was trying to wake her. Haruka groaned and opened her eyes to see a blonde woman, around her age, gently nudging her shoulder. "Excuse me," she said in a concerned tone, her bright blue eyes looking down at Haruka, "is that yours?" Haruka looked over at where she was pointing to see a taxi with an annoyed looking man behind the wheel. Haruka stumbled as she tried standing and was surprised to see the women helping her to her feet. By the time Haruka was up, the taxi driver cursed under his breath and drove off, clearly tired of waiting.

The blonde woman sighed and shook her head, a little annoyed by the cab driver's action, but nonetheless tried to be caring to Haruka, "If you need a ride, I could drive you to where you need to go." Haruka squinted her eyes, trying to bring the woman into focus, instead of the blurry image she saw before her. When her eyes finally focused she blinked with shock from the woman before her. She was beautiful and had a really kind and sympathetic expression, speaking with a British accent.

Haruka rubbed the back of her neck as she looked down some, feeling a little guilty for being asleep on the sidewalk, drunk. "Do you need a ride?" the woman asked, not sure if Haruka heard her the first time. Haruka waved a hand vaguely as she turned to walk off, "I'm fine," but right after she said it, she stumbled a bit. The woman went to her side and helped her to stand, "Let me give you a ride to your place, I don't mind." Haruka scoffed, "You don't even know me," she turned her head sharply towards the woman and regreted it the second she did, due to the dizziness she recieved. Haruka put a hand to her head and winced a little, she didn't remember ever getting this drunk before.

"Please," the woman said with a caring look, though she sounded as if she didn't want to be pushy, "let me help you." Haruka closed her eyes as someone momentarily flashed in her mind, like someone she knew before who took care of her like this. Haruka hoped that if she opened her eyes she would see the woman in her mind standing before her, but when she did..she only saw the kind woman who offered to take her home. Haruka stared at her for a few seconds as if thinking staring at her long enough would turn her into the woman in her mind, but the beautiful blonde woman was the only one in front of her.

Haruka finally nodded and let the woman help her to her car.


End file.
